Evaluation of the Importance of Soft Tissue Biopsy in Military Dentistry
Abstract
Introduction: The gold standard for establishing a definitive diagnosis of head and neck disease is biopsy. Despite the established importance of this procedure, several civilian dental surveys have determined that general dentists feel unprepared to perform biopsies. Purpose: The purpose of this research study was to determine whether military dentists perform soft tissue biopsies during their educational and professional careers and factors influencing the decision to perform them. Methods: All active duty military dentists from the Air Force, Army, and Navy were provided the opportunity to participate in an anonymous survey hosted on MAX.gov from September 2017 to September 2018. Results: The survey was completed by 562 military dentists (response rate = 17.5%). The overwhelming majority of respondents (76%, n=427) reported they attended a dental school without a soft tissue biopsy requirement. Of those who remained general dentists (n=329), 70% performed zero biopsies in dental school and 99% performed less than five. Furthermore, 81% of participants performed less than five biopsies throughout their post dental school careers. Interestingly, a majority of general dentists (n=213; 65%) and specialists (n=122; 52%) responded that general dentists should perform soft tissue biopsies. However, 82% of general dentists reported that dental school did not adequately prepare them to perform soft tissue preventing them from performing soft tissue biopsies in practice. Conclusions: The results suggest that soft tissue biopsy is not adequately taught in dental school programs and subsequently not performed in the practice of general dentistry, although most dentists feel that they should be capable of performing this procedure.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 10, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1128117
Entities
People
- Kimberly N. Tong
Organizations
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences